It has been our experience that the families we gift have lost much due to the strain of caring for a child with life-threatening cancer. This kind of crisis leads to loss of homes, loss of jobs, loss of optimism and dreams, loss of emotional energy, and time. We have found a tremendous need to help fill this bucket of losses.

To our knowledge, we are the only foundation that replenishes a salary so parents can take care of their child without the distress of financial burden. We have now given more than $165,000 to 13 different families. We have figured that it costs about $100 per day to supplement a family’s lost income. Over 90% of our donated money has gone directly to families. We have ben able to do this because our Board of Directors volunteers their time and energy. We have no paid staff at this time, no office rent, and a dedicated group of friends and volunteers that support the Foundation’s efforts.

Every week we receive numerous emails or phone calls from around the country from heartbroken parents, social workers, and pediatric oncology nurses asking for our help. It is our goal to expand regionally and then nationally when I retire from my teaching job in three years. Right now, because of the generosity of UHG and its business partners, we will be able to set up an endowment to secure that the mission of the Szott Foundation will be sustained over time.

We truly have been blessed.
Kathryn Szott, President

It has been quite a busy summer, and it all began in late April. The Szott Foundation was notified that it would be the fortunate recipient of the 2011 UnitedHealth Group Golf Event. The golf event committee identifies a different charity each year through an internal vote, and 100% of the sponsorship funds go to the targeted charity. Vendors of UHG provide the donations, and the sponsor levels range from $3500 to $15,000. We are deeply honored and grateful. The event will take place on September 22 at Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake, MN.

As a result, we will be giving more than our predetermined number of Gifts of Time in 2011 and 2012. The Gift of Time allows for one parent to stay home from work full-time to manage the physical, emotional and medical needs of a child with life-threatening cancer. We plan to present one Gift at the UHG Golf event and at least one more Gift at the Abby Invite Gymnastics Tournament in the winter.

On behalf of the Szott Foundation’s Board of Directors, I’d like to thank UnitedHealth Group and the many businesses that have allowed us to take the Foundation to a new level. The donors will be identified individually on our website as the date of the event draws nearer.

Sincerely,
Kathryn Szott, President

Hello Szott Foundation Friends,

We are so excited, as we are getting ready to mail out our first annual appeal letter. Our data base is in need of some “spring cleaning,” so we are taking care of that before the letters go out. Please be looking for our letter in the near future.

Once again, the Abby Invite held in mid December, was a lot of fun and financially successful. Sixty-eight hundred dollars were raised! This was the first year that all the high schools in District 196 pooled their resources to hold one of the most prestigious meets in the state of MN. This comes as a welcomed change for the Eastview High School gymnasts, parents, and coaches, as they have hosted it alone since 2004. In the coming years the meet will be organized by District196 high schools on a rotating basis. We want to thank all the parents, coaches, students, and other volunteers that help to make this annual event a success, and we look forward to next year’s meet at Rosemount High School.

We want to remind all of you that the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation continues to prosper. We have a dynamic board of people with an abundance of energy, creativity, and business knowledge. Since we made the decision during the summer of 2010 to scale back our large fundraising efforts until my retirement from teaching in 2014, we will continue to give at least one Gift of Time each year. With your help from our first annual appeal, that number will likely rise.

On behalf of the Szott Foundation board of directors, we wish you well, and we thank you in advance for your continued support that allows one parent to stay home from work full-time to meet the emotional, physical, and medical needs of a child with life threatening cancer. There is no more important Gift than this.

Blessings!

Kathryn

Jacob enjoys playing video games and likes hockey and baseball. He also enjoys fishing in a lake or river and looks forward to the day when he can own his own home near the water so he can fish all he wants. We hope that Jacob is home soon and enjoys ice fishing as much as fishing from a boat!

Dear Friends of the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation,

This letter is to inform you that after much soul searching and many conversations with friends, family members, and our Board of Directors, David and I have decided to make some significant changes in the direction of the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation.

After three successful years of fundraising and awarding nine families a total of more than $140,000, we have made the decision to modify our goals and efforts to a more manageable level. These changes will result in a smaller Board of Directors, fewer fundraising events, and more limited gifts to families. This also means that we will not be holding the much loved Tournament for Time this year.

We hope it is clear that we are not discontinuing the Foundation, but becoming more realistic in what we can accomplish with volunteers, the lack of paid staff, and both David and I having full time jobs. The present reality is that the myriad tasks of managing and growing a Foundation have become extremely demanding, and David and I are feeling the results of too many responsibilities and obligations and not enough time and energy to accomplish what we want to achieve. We have learned the hard way that the competing priorities for us to effectively balance our careers, our personal lives, and the demands of the foundation have become too difficult.

Despite these changes, we will most certainly continue to solicit and accept contributions as well as manage allocating funds to recipients, maintain our 501(c)(3) status, and retain a Board of Directors. Our goals are to maintain this status until David and I reach our retirement years. At that time we will discuss the options of ramping up the Foundation efforts and develop new goals that will be consistent with our resources of energy and time.

Our hope is that you continue to support our efforts for providing the Gift of Time to families in need.

This decision has not come easily, but we hope you understand that our attempt to continue at the same pace we’ve created the past three years is not sustainable. Finally, given that you have been an invaluable input to the Foundation’s success, if you have feedback that you would like to share, we welcome you to reach to us at kathryn.szott@szottfoundation.org. Most importantly, we very much appreciate your ongoing assistance and collaboration.

Blessings,

David and Kathryn Szott

Founders of the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation

Christmas greetings from the Szott Foundation:

We are so happy to report that in November the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation presented its eleventh Gift of Time of $8,000 to Wendy Morales and her seven-year-old daughter, Krystell. They will honor us by attending the 5^th annual Abby Invite Gymnastics Fundraiser this Saturday, December 19 at Eastview High School in Apple Valley to officially receive the Gift. Please join us! It is always a very fun day.

We are so grateful to the coaches, EVHS gymnastics booster club, judges, volunteers, and to the 12 teams that will be competing. Each team has worked to provide a wide variety of silent auction items. I especially want to recognize Jodi Ramboldt, head coach for Eastview, for she is the driving force behind this very successful event that donates all of its proceeds to the Szott Foundation. We are humbled by her dedication to the sport, love for Abby and the Szott Foundation, and huge compassionate heart. Jodi would not be able to do what she does, however, without the help from her husband, Mick. Thank you Mick and Jodi for you teamwork.

Please go to our Recipients page to learn more about Krystell. She was diagnosed in August with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. She has had surgery to remove a tumor in her arm and is undergoing chemotherapy. We pray for total healing from the top of Krystell’s head to the bottom of her feet, and we are so grateful that Wendy will be able to spend this precious time with her little girl without the worry of financial burden. Be blessed Wendy and Krystell!

Another piece of exciting news is the wildly successful “Give to the Max Day” that occurred on November 17. Thank you to all who participated in that fundraising effort. We all raised more than $6,000 on that one day, and numerous donations have come in since then. We are deeply grateful for each and every dollar raised.

On behalf of the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation, we want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy, and blessed New Year.

Warmest regards,

Kathryn Szott, President

Hello Szott Foundation Friends,

As many of us head back to school, I am beginning to ask myself if summer ever arrived. I have never before worn a sweatshirt so many days in summer. Last night we attended a very fun block party. I wore a long sleeve t-shirt, hoody, winter coat, and gloves. There was big bond fire, and I was none too warm. We all thought it must be an evening in early November. I am NOT ready for summer to end.

As summer does come to a close, the Szott Foundation has many reasons to celebrate. Emmy Garner’s third annual Volley/Bowl Tournament raised $1500 for the Szott Foundation. Four of our board members bowled. We lost miserably but had a blast. The volleyball was a lot of fun, as well. Most of the teams were composed of young people, but there were a couple 40 and 50- something teams out there. Way to go! I would encourage more people to participate in the fun next year. Our hats off to you Emmy!

We were blessed with another perfect day for our 3^rd annual Tournament for Time. Eric Perkins was our emcee/host and he did a fabulous job. He even said he’d come back next year and do it again. The highlight of the day had to have been the presence of the Olson Gift of Time family, Justin, Jodi, Jordyn, and Brenna. When Jodi said, “Jordyn is alive today because of the Szott Foundation,” there was not a dry eye in the place. Jordyn, just turned 3, then took the mic from her mom and proceeded to give her 2 cents worth. It was darling. That little girl had the audience captured.

We were very pleased with the results of the T4T this year. The sluggish economy left its mark, but our bottom line was still almost $13,000. A great, great big thank you to all who participated.

To finish of the whirlwind of the week, the following day Natalie Nutty hosted her 2^nd annual Homerun for Time. She also did a great job. In addition to t-shirts, brats, burgers, and tons of laughter, she added a silent auction. My favorite item was a flying lesson. Very cool, Natalie! On behalf of the Szott Foundation, we are so grateful for the $2,000 raised.

I turned 55 on August 18^th, and I set a Facebook goal for the Szott Foundation Cause. I challenged 20 people to each donate $55 raising a total of $1100. I didn’t get 20 people, and they didn’t all donate $55. One person told me that she just needed to add a 5 to her donation, so hers became a $555 donation. It was fun because every day for the week before my birthday, I would check my email to see who might have donated. When it was all said and done, through facebook and snail mail I raised $1300. Thank you to all who participated.

Finally, we received a grant for $500 from the Pediatric Homecare Service in Roseville. They learned about us through the Association of Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurses conference last spring. When I received a call from them, I just assumed they were going to ask for help. You can imagine my delight when I was told they wanted to give us money. A link to their website will be put on ours.

The good news in all this is that the Szott Foundation has $18,300 more than we did at the beginning of the summer. God continues to provide for the Szott Foundation, and we will continue to do His work.

May you all be blessed!

Kathryn

Janet Malz

I hope you are enjoying this lovely summer Sunday afternoon. I had the pleasure of having lunch with Jon, one of Abby’s dear friends today, and I was reminded once again of how important relationships are. I treasure the ones I have with the young people in my life, and who were in Abby’s. I’m not always very good at keeping connected with them. I continue to vow that I will do better.

Moving on to a more difficult topic for me to discuss, I am going to plead for your help.  As unemployment continues to rise, so does the immense need of families depending on charitable organizations such as the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation. It is a time that we must lean heavily on those who are able to give. As I mentioned last time I wrote, we are having to suspend giving a Gift of Time for the third quarter of 2009, and that breaks my heart. This is an appeal to all of you out there who care deeply about the Szott Foundation’s mission to provide the Gift of Time that allows one parent to stay home from work full-time to take care of the physical, emotional, and medical needs of a child with life-threatening cancer.  I am aware that many of you will not be able to support the Szott Foundation by attending one, two, or all three of our fundraisers that are scheduled for the end of July and beginning of August, but perhaps you can contribute by making a generous donation.

Please reflect upon my request. I ask you to imagine if it was your child fighting for life, and you were having to make a choice between work and being able to stay home with you child. Please, please help. Donating on-line is fast and easy. All you need to do is click on the “Donate Now” button.

With many blessings and sincerest gratitude.

Kathryn Szott, President of the Andrew and Abby Szott Foundation

We were also honored to award the Lynell Gusta with $6,000. Lynell’s son, Grant McGarry, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in May of 2007. He began his chemotherapy in September of that year and finished it in March 2008. Grant remained cancer free until January 2009, at which time it had metastasized to both lungs. Grant is facing difficult medical challenges at this time, but he recently enjoyed celebrating his twelfth birthday with many friends and family. Please follow Grant’s story on his caringbridge site at www.caringbridge.org/visit/grantmcgarry.

The Andrew and Abby Szott Foundations wishes both of our new families faith, endurance, courage, and hope (FECH).  As we do for all of our Gift of Time children, we will pray for total healing from the top of these children’s heads to the bottom of their feet.

Many blessings to all of our Szott Foundation friends. We hope to see many of you at one or all three of our July fundraisers. First of all Emmy Garner has added a twist to the third annual Sand Volleybowl Benefit on Saturday July 25. Notice the name. You now may register as a volleyball player or as a bowler.

Join us the following Friday, July 31, as we kick-off a weekend of Szott Foundation fun with our third annual Tournament for Time golf event at Monticello Golf Club on Friday and our second annual Homerun for Time on Saturday, August 1, where the MN Twins take on the Los Angeles Angels. You can learn more about all three events and how to register by visiting us at www.szottfoundation.org and clicking on the Fundraisers link.

FECH
Kathryn Szott, President